Experts say alcohol biggest safety threat

Alcohol is the biggest threat to the safety of teenage girls in Tauranga, with social media amplifying the problem, experts say.

A secondary school counsellor told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend that some students were getting so drunk they were waking up to discover they had had sex with no memory of it, or deeply regretting their decision to have sex while their inhibitions were lowered by alcohol.

Parents attending teenage parenting courses increasingly say their children's use of social media is causing problems.

The Roast Busters scandal in Auckland has terrified parents, and with the level of unsupervised teenage drinking in Tauranga, it could happen here, teen experts say.

A counsellor at a secondary school in the Western Bay said the biggest problems stemmed from alcohol - including unwanted and unprotected sex, depression and suicidal thoughts.

The counsellor, who talked on the condition of anonymity, said students in every school had the same problems.

"It's not uncommon for girls to be so drunk that they discover they have been raped, they wake up and they have had sex and don't even know that they have," the counsellor said.

"Or their inhibitions are so low that they have sex and they really regret it. It gets them into other issues with their peers. They might have unprotected sex.

"When they are drinking, often alcohol really increases depression and suicidal [feelings]. Their defences are down, that's when they make really rash and impulsive decisions."

The counsellor said alcohol was being consumed by secondary students from Year 9 - and even before that at intermediate age.